sunday morning scones

If you've grown up in the Northwest or spent a significant amount of time here, you're familiar with June gloom.  Just when summer seems to have arrived, strawberries are in full force, your legs are slightly tan and the freckles are emerging on your cheeks from afternoons in the sun, June arrives.  And with it, the gloom.  The past two years haven't really been that bad, and this year it seems to mean more rain than the past few months and humid, strangely summery, drizzly days.  Today was one of those in Oregon wine country and it seemed like a perfect excuse to enjoy scones and coffee for breakfast (as if we needed an excuse).  The sheer fact that summer officially showed up on Friday, rain or shine, made me crave blueberries - one of those foods that signal summer, like heirloom tomatoes - and remember the bounty we picked last year.

I've been known to call scones "the perfect breakfast", and I'll happily defend this statement.  They're warm, begging for melted butter, jam and a nice cup of something warm.  They make you feel happy and content and fill our house up with good smells and Sunday indulgences.  Aaron, my partner, is our resident baker and won my heart for many reasons two years ago, scones not far from the top of the list.  He makes them almost every weekend with different fillings based on the season and mood of our family or guests.  Indulge, enjoy and definitely don't wait until next Sunday.

Aaron's Sunday morning scones

• 1 1/2 cups of flour
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 3 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 3/4 stick of cold butter
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 cup almond milk (milk, or other milk substitute - we find the flavor with almond milk is delicious!)
• zest from half a lemon
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries (frozen berries work much better than fresh)
• tbsp raw turbindo sugar

Preheat oven to 425.  Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Add butter with a pastry knife or crumble into pea size pieces by hand.  Add zest, mix by hand, then add milk and mix until combined and all ingredients are wet.  Fold in frozen blueberries and divide into six even pieces of dough.  Sprinkle raw sugar on top of scones.  Place on floured and greased oven sheet and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until knife comes out dry.  

Other good filling options include: pecans and dates, lemon and cardamom, blackberry and vanilla, cherry and almond, or any other fresh fruit and spices you have around.  Just remember to adjust the sugar level accordingly.  These scones tend to have a hint of sweetness rather than a sugary hit, so feel free to double the sugar!

purpose

My very talented friend Dan Elliot (http://pointedmanband.com) wisely told me that all food blogs need a purpose.  I couldn't agree more.  Part of me was hoping that the purpose would become clear to readers over time, but in our busy world, inundated with food blogs and beautiful food focused instagram photos, it can be hard to wait.

So, my purpose is simple.  Without preaching or labels (vegan, GF, non-GMO, etc, etc, etc) I want people to begin to eat better and therefore feel better.  To realize that the best food; best tasting, best looking, easiest to cook with, cheapest to buy, and most interesting to play with in the kitchen, comes straight from the earth.  Not in prepackaged plastic containers, or in the freezer isle, and should never have ingredients you cannot pronounce (unless you're addicted to asian food like I am and therefore they're in another language; exception to every rule).  Food tastes better with just a little dirt from the garden.  Dirt you tilled yourself, that lodged itself under you finger nails and made you feel like part of something real.

Heirloom tomatoes from our garden

You should never have to count your fruit and vegetable servings, they are the core of what sustains your body and should be abundant in every meal. 

Life is to short to eat bad food.  I think gardening taught me this...but more on that later.

Every time I sit down to a meal and leave less than excited about what I just ate, I get sad.  Honestly.  Ask my partner, I often have orderer's remorse.  I feel as though I wasted an opportunity to experience a new flavor, ingredient or preparation.  That I wasted precious space and time in my body and life that could have been devoted to something more spectacular.  Not complicated, or expensive, or challenging to cook, just spectacular.  Sometimes, in fact most often, in it's simplicity.  Good, real, whole, natural ingredients don't need to be dressed up, they shine in their nakedness and delight with their abundance of flavor and color.  I'm excited to share with you, whoever you may be and with whatever purpose you visit my blog, the joy of cooking with real food that I've experienced over the past few years.  It's been a journey and I'm loving it.

I want you to enjoy the creative energy that cooking inspires, sit down to a lovely meal and never even realize that it's vegan or meatless or dairy free.  It tastes better despite and because of that, but never because of the label that comes attached to those choices and the stigma and preconceived notions that tag along behind them.  That being said, know that I have only respect for whole food vegans and vegetarians.  It's difficult to cut things out definitively from your life and experiences.  It's hard to set strict boundaries and say no.  I just believe that to be healthy and happy you always don't need to.  Moderation and pleasure can be friends. 

I'll try to teach you how.

And now, my favorite meal this month...(and yes, it's vegan.)

Lemongrass Tofu Banh Mi with Sweet Potato Fries

Lemongrass tofu marinade

• 1 pkg firm tofu
• 1/2 cup peanut or vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 5 tablespoons tamari or braggs
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 stalks fresh lemongrass

Other ingredients

• 2 large sweet potatoes
• siracha sauce
• veganaise
• 1 large cucumber
• small bunch of cilantro
• french rolls
• 4 large carrots
• 2 medium daikon radishes
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Drain tofu and slice into slices 2" wide by 1/4" thick.  Chop and smash (with the side of your knife) lemongrass and garlic.  In a large plastic freezer bag combine the rest of marinade ingredients and mix well.  Lay tofu slices on top of marinade and ensure tofu is coated.  Leave in refrigerator for 1 hour or up to a day.  Occasionally flip bag to ensure equal coating.

Meanwhile, slice 4 large carrots and 2 medium daikon radishes into bite size pieces, either with a mandolin or sharp knife.  Any shape will work that seems like it will fit nicely into a sandwich.  Mix 3 cups warm water, 3 tbsp rice vinegar, 3 tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp salt together until everything is dissolved. place carrot and radish slices into a large mason jar and cover with pickling liquid.  Let sit for at least 1 hour and up to 1 week.

For sauce, combine 1/2 cup veganaise or mayonnaise with 1 tbsp siracha sauce and 1/2 tbsp sesame oil, mix.

Slice cucumber into thin slices for layering and set aside coarsely chopped cilantro.

Cut sweet potatoes into wedges, toss with salt and olive oil and bake at 450 until golden and crispy.  Mix another 1/2 cup veganaise with 1 tbsp sirarcha sauce for dipping.  

Remove tofu from marinade, sauté on high until golden and crispy on all sides.  Briefly toast french rolls at 350 until slightly firm.  Coat french roll with sauce, layer tofu, pickled vegetables, cucumber, and cilantro and enjoy!

the x factor

I discovered cooking through love.

I know, it sounds trite, but its the honest truth.  I always cooked, enjoyed following recipes and spending time in the kitchen, but it wasn't until I found a love that also loved cooking that I truly learned how to cook.

I once learned Portuguese for someone I loved and the ease with which fluency and proficiency came was astonishing.  I practically failed high school Spanish, so no, its not a gift for languages that got me through.  Love opens something up inside you, gives you abilities not previously possessed.  If you've felt it, you know, if not, just wait.  I envy your ignorance.  The journey will be the time of your life.

But cooking.  I digress.  The Flavor Bible talks about "The X Factor," defined as "what is perceived by the other senses (besides taste), plus the heart, mind, and spirit."  I believe it is this factor that takes recipes from basic to gourmet.  From food to experience.  The X Factor...I think it's real.

Let's start with kale.

I suppose it would be crazy to call kale my favorite food, with things like gnocchi and bahn mi and heirloom tomatoes out there. But as a basic, everyday ingredient it's pretty amazing.  Forget boxed baby lettuce, easy to use but slimy from a life in plastic containers, tannic spinach (more on tannins later) and even arugula (although there is a soft spot in my heart for arugula and a definite time and place for this magic green).  Kale is touted as a super food, versatile in cooking applications and infinitely delicious - sautéed, baked, blended and raw.  Yes, raw.  And it's easy to grow.  Throw rain at it, heat, mild frost, drought, it will surprise you and thrive.  It'll make you feel like a real gardner and that alone makes kale awesome.

Let alone all the things you can do with it in the kitchen...here's an easy one, just to get us both started.  This whole food blog thing is intimidating.

Baked Kale Chips

• 1 bunch raw kale (curly, lacinto, red)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon braggs liquid amino (or soy sauce)
• sprinkle of red chili flakes (optional)

Chop kale into 3" pieces, including stem.  Toss with remaining ingredients and bake at 400 F until crispy and brown.  Serves 4-6 as an appetizer or 1 as a delicious snack!